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The new pathways allow caregivers who meet the criteria to become permanent residents in Canada.

This is an essential guide to anyone wanting to work as a caregiver in Canada whilst looking to gain permanent residency to the country. Below we will outline the old programs, and the changes that have been made to create the programs, as well as how to apply.

An overview of the caregiver pathways to permanent residence

Canada’s caregiver pathways were a means of getting permanent residency to Canada through working as a caregiver. Foreign caregivers could work giving care to the elderly, children, or people with significant medical needs and through their work experience, apply for a residency permit.

There are a number of criteria which caregivers need to meet, and these will be presented in this article.

What were the old programs for caregivers?

The following were Canada’s former pathways for carers.

Live-in Caregiver Program

The live-in caregiver program was a very popular pathway for people to work as live-in caregivers in Canada and through this program, people became permanent residents of Canada. The Canadian government stopped accepting new applicants to this program in 2014 because of reports of poor working conditions for people working as caregivers.

This was replaced with an Interim Pathway for Caregivers, which has recently reopened and will be discussed in the next section.

Some people who were already on the Live-in Caregiver Program before it finished can apply for permanent residency:

If you already have a work permit through the Live-in Caregiver Program based on a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) issued before 30th November 2014, you can apply for permanent residence.

If you need to extend your permit or change the conditions on your permit (such as change job or employer), you must do this at least 30 days before your permit expires. If your permit expires, you will need to leave Canada.

Caring for Children pathway

This is one of the old programs where caregivers were entitled to residency if they had worked full-time for at least one year with children, as well as had proficiency in English or French and had a post-secondary qualification.

Caring for People with High Medical Needs pathway

Applicants to this program had to have worked full-time for at least one year as a nurse, support worker, or similar occupation, as well as had proficiency in English or French and had a post-secondary qualification.

NOTE: People who applied to the Caring for Children Pathway or Caring for people with High Medical Needs Pathway will still be processed as long as the application was received before 18th June 2019.

What are the new pathways for caregivers?

The Interim Pathway for Caregivers

As we mentioned above, the Interim Pathway for Caregivers is reopening for three months starting on 8th July 2019.

The Interim Pathway for Caregivers is a current, temporary pathway for qualified caregivers in Canada who are eligible to apply for permanent residence. This is a temporary pathway which replaces the live-in caregiver program.

You may be eligible if:

Are authorized to work on a work permit other than the Live-in Caregiver Program

You have had 12 months of full-time work in Canada as a home support worker or home child care provider since 30th November 2014.

Once you have 24 months of relevant experience and meet the other criteria, you can apply for residency under the pilot. You can get a work permit if you already have a job offer in Canada.

You will then need two years of work experience to apply for residency.

You can apply for residency if you are already working on a permit in Canada and meet the above criteria.

There are a limited number of places on the program per year.

Applications will take 12 months to process for those applying for work permits, and six months for those applying who already meet the requirement for work experience.

There are a number of different job titles which will be applicable under the program, such as nanny, babysitter, live-in caregiver, home support worker, personal aide, and so on.

You can apply from inside and outside Canada, as long as you meet the correct criteria.

A summary of the changes…

The Interim Pathway for Caregivers has reopened.

The Caring for Children Pathway and Caring for People with High Medical needs Pathway have been replaced by the Home Care Provider and Home Support Worker Pilots.

The Home Care Provider and Home Support Worker Pilots mean that people can change jobs quickly if they need to (providing more safety) because the permits are specific to an occupation instead of an employer.

The new pilots allow partners and children to access work and study permits so that caregivers can take their families with them to Canada.

A Labour Markey Impact Assessment is no longer necessary for employers to hire an overseas caregiver.

How to apply for the new caregiver pathways in Canada

The first thing you need to do is to go to the Canada Visa website and check that you are eligible to apply for the new pathways. You will need to provide information about your work history, job offer (if applicable), family, and financial circumstances.If you are eligible, Canadian Immigration will then provide you with further information on the next steps in your application process.